781.11 


MOODS  OF  MUSIC     By  Robert  Blum 


ILLINOIS  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


IHS&1' 

Copyright  by  Robert  Blum.     From  a  Copley  Print  copyright  by  Curtis  £5?  Cameron,  Publishers,  Boston 


(yeru thing  l\nown 


erutmna 

^71  fl 

in  AtusLc 


"   I 


SOUVENIR 


OF  THE  NEW  HOME  OF  THE 


WORLD'S   FOREMOST 


MUSIC  HOUSE 


WITH  A  BRIEF  COMMENT  ON 

THE  INSTRUMENTS 

OF  THE  ORCHESTRA 


WABASH  AVENUE   AT  JACKSON  BOULEVARD 

CHICAGO 


Copyright  1916 
by 

LYON  &  HEALY 
Chicago 


Designed  and 

Printed  by 

THE  FAITHORN  COMPANY 
Chicago 


MUSIC  IS  A  REQUISITE  OF  TIME  AND 
ETERNITY.  IT  RENDERS  A  SERVICE  NOTH- 
ING ELSE  CAN.  IT  REACHES  INTO  THE 
DEEP  STORES  OF  LIFE  AND  BRINGS  FORTH 
MORE  OF  THE  POTENTIAL  SELFHOOD.  IT 
WARMS  THE  HEART,  CLEARS  THE  HEAD, 
STRENGTHENS  THE  ARM,  AND  GLADDENS 
THE  FEET.  IT  KINDLES  THE  ALTAR,  SANC- 
TIFIES THE  FIRESIDE,  AND  OPENS  THE 
TREASURE  CHESTS  OF  HUMAN  LIFE.  IT 
LIGHTENS  EVERY  SORROW,  AND  HEIGHTENS 
EVERY  JOY.  ITS  ENCHANTMENT  IN- 
CREASES WITH  NEARNESS  AND  FAMILIAR 
RECOGNITION,  AND  IT  WIDENS  IN  WONDER 
AS  WE  SEEK  TO  COMPREHEND  IT.  IT  CAME 
TO  US  OUT  OF  A  PRIMEVAL  PAST,  AND 
GOES  EVER  ON  INTO  A  FATHOMLESS 
FUTURE.  EVERY  STEP  OF  HUMAN  PRO- 
GRESS HAS  BROUGHT  MUSIC  CLOSER  INTO 
DAILY  LIFE;  AND  THE  UNIVERSAL  DREAM 
OF  IMMORTALITY  CHERISHES  THE  HOPE 
THAT  UNCEASING  MUSIC  SHALL  FILL  THE 
VAST  FOREVER. 

— WALDO  PONDRAY  WARREN 


N  WELCOMING  to  our  new  home  the  music  lovers 
of  Chicago  and  of  the  world,  it  seems  especially 
appropriate  that  our  greetings  should  bear  the  title, 
"Everything  Known  in  Music."  A  wealth  of  meaning 
and  sentiment  has  become  associated  with  this  phrase 
through  the  fifty  years  of  its  use  as  the  slogan  of 
Lyon  &  Healy.  It  established  the  ideal  of  the  firm  in 
its  early  days,  dominated  the  policies  of  its  develop- 
ment, and  stands  today  as  the  best  characterization  of  its  achievements. 
An  unfeigned  pleasure  and  a  justifiable  pride  accompany  the  conscious- 
ness that  nowhere  else  in  the  world  could  this  phrase  be  so  truthfully 
employed. 

The  new  Lyon  &  Healy  Building,  completed  and  occupied  in  May, 
1916,  was  erected  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Marquette  A.  Healy 
and  is  an  expression  in  steel  and  stone  of  the  best  ideas  for  the  display 
and  sale  of  musical  merchandise  which  have  been  evolved  through  the 
cumulative  experience  of  half  a  century. 

One  street  south  of  the  old  home,  which  served  the  growing  needs  of 

Lyon  &  Healy  from  the  days  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  the 

new  building  stands,  with  its  hospitable  doors  open  to  old  friends  and  new. 

The  building,  which  is  a  nine-story  steel  structure,  faced  with  pink 

granite  and  gray  terra  cotta,  follows  the  Italian  Renaissance  in  the  design 


Our 
™ 


EVEnYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


The  General 
Arrangement 


of  its  principal  facades,  with  the  introduction  of  the  Corinthian  order  at 
the  upper  stories.  The  entrances  on  Jackson  Boulevard  and  Wabash 
Avenue  are  finished  in  walnut,  white  marble,  gold  leaf,  and  white 
enamel.  The  corridors  are  finished  with  light  Toanazzo  marble 
wainscot,  the  floors  are  of  marble  tile,  and  the  woodwork  is  of  walnut. 

The  first  floor  is  devoted  to  Victrolas,  Sheet  Music,  Books,  and  the 
Lyon  &  Healy  Concert  Hall.  The  second  floor  is  devoted  to  Victor 
Records,  retail  and  wholesale,  and  the  third  to  the  display  and  sale  of 
Pianos.  The  remaining  floors,  excepting  a  few  studios  on  the  outer 
space  of  the  four  upper  stories,  are  occupied  by  various  other  retail  and 
wholesale  lines  of  musical  merchandise,  repair  workrooms,  and  the 
administrative  and  general  offices  of  the  Company. 

From  the  earliest  days  of  the  business,  which  began  in  October, 
1864,  the  house  of  Lyon  &  Healy  has  stood  squarely  for  the  higher 
ideals  of  the  music  business.  It  has  resolutely  avoided  any  policy 
it  would  be  unwilling  to  have  publicly  known,  and  has  given  a 
whole-hearted  emphasis  to  such  policies  as  tend  toward  perfection 
and  idealism  in  musical  merchandise,  sales  methods,  service  and  mer- 
cantile customs.  It  has  done  much  to  foster  an  appreciation  of  the 
best  in  music.  Its  initiative  and  example  have  been  among  the  most 
potent  influences  for  the  development  of  music  and  the  musical 
instrument  industry  in  America. 

Few  establishments  in  the  domain  of  musical  merchandise  have  ever 
attained  a  position  in  their  community  comparable  to  that  long  enjoyed 
by  Lyon  &  Healy  in  Chicago.  Being  one  of  the  oldest  commercial 
institutions  in  the  city,  with  its  prestige  well  established  "before  the 
Fire,"  it  has  been  conspicuously  identified  with  Chicago's  progress,  and 
has  had  no  small  part  in  forming  the  esthetic  ideals  of  the  city,  and  in 
furthering  their  advancement.  It  has  consistently  set  before  the  public 
the  best  productions  of  the  genius,  ingenuity,  and  skill  of  the  whole 
world  of  music.  Its  steady  growth,  which  has  necessitated  this 
new  building,  is  the  natural  result  of  the  appreciation  of  its  efforts 
by  the  public. 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


The     business    of   Lyon    &    Healy    includes    buying,    importing,  Its  Scoi>e 
manufacturing,  wholesaling,  and   retailing  musical   instruments,  sheet 
music,  music  books,  and  musical  merchandise  of  all  kinds  produced 
anywhere.     Our  vast   stocks   embrace,   literally,   "Everything   Known 
in  Music." 

As  the  world's  foremost  music  house  it  is  distinguished  by  the 
magnitude  of  its  business,  the  extent  of  its  territory,  the  scope  of  its 
stocks,  the  character  of  its  merchandise,  the  high  quality  of  its  own 
products,  and  the  conspicuous  and  honored  place  it  h?s  long  occupied 
in  the  musical  instrument  industry. 

Our  importing  activities  are  extensive  and  world-wide.     To  live  up  importing 
to  the  ideal  of  selling  "Everything  Known  in  Music,"  it  has  been  neces- 
sary to  keep  in  touch  with  the  best  producers  of  musical  instruments  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  and  to  make  their  products  available  for  purchase 
here  in  Chicago. 

In  addition  to  our  established  trade  connections  with  the  leading 
producers  in  America  and  Europe,  our  traveling  buyers  cover  the 
various  Old  World  districts  where  musical  goods  are  made;  and  our 
resident  buyer,  with  permanent  offices  and  warehouses,  is  located  at 
Markneukirchen,  Saxony,  the  recognized  center  of  the  foreign  musical 
instrument  industry.  The  leading  foreign  musical  publications,  period- 
icals, and  compositions,  are,  by  the  same  far-reaching  policy,  made 
available  at  retail  in  Chicago. 

The  Manufacturing  activities  of  Lyon  &  Healy  are  carried  on  in 
an  immense  new  fireproof  factory  building,  located  on  Fullerton  Avenue, 
Chicago,  about  six  miles  from  the  downtown  center  of  the  city.  Here 
are  made  the  world-famous  Lyon  &  Healy  Harp,  in  their  various  styles; 
the  Lyon  &  Healy  Piano  in  uprights,  grands,  and  player-pianos; 
Washburn  Pianos;  specially  designed  pianos  for  export;  a  large  variety 
of  band,  orchestral,  and  other  instruments;  and  minor  lines  of  musical 
merchandise.  In  each  of  these  lines  our  output  is  very  extensive.  The 
ideals  which  characterize  the  house  of  Lyon  &  Healy  are  notably  dom- 
inant in  the  Manufacturing  Department. 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


Our  Wholesale  business,  which  occupies  the  new  building  jointly 
with  the  retail  department,  keeps  us  in  constant  touch  with  manufac- 
turers and  dealers  in  musical  merchandise  everywhere.  There  are  few 
manufacturers  from  whom  we  do  not  buy,  and  few  dealers  to  whom  we 
do  not  sell.  Our  traveling  salesmen  visit  periodically  the  leading  cities 
and  towns  of  the  United  States,  and  our  large  illustrated  catalogue,  for 
dealers  only,  places  our  complete  line  within  reach  of  any  musical  goods 
dealer  throughout  the  United  States.  Catalogues  published  in  Spanish 
cover  the  Latin  countries  of  Central  and  South  America.  Orders  come 
to  us  from  almost  every  country  on  the  globe.  The  volume  and  reach 
of  our  wholesale  business  is  unequalled  in  the  music  trade. 

Our  Retail  business  includes  everything  we  import,  manufacture, 
or  buy,  and  covers,  literally,  "Everything  Known  in  Music."  In  every 
division  of  our  retail  business  our  stocks  are  very  extensive,  and  our 
volume  of  sales  very  large. 

The  Piano  department,  which  early  became  one  of  the  important 
branches  of  the  business  of  Lyon  &  Healy,  includes  the  exclusive  selling 
agency  in  the  Chicago  territory  for  the  Steinway  Piano.  Several  large 
display  rooms  on  the  third  floor  are  devoted  to  the  Steinway  Piano 
exclusively.  This  superlative  instrument,  which  has  been  sold  in 
Chicago  by  Lyon  &  Healy  for  nearly  fifty  years,  has  exerted  a  potent 
influence  on  our  conception  of  quality  in  musical  instruments. 

The  Aeolian  line  of  Pianola-Pianos,  in  various  styles;  the  Weber 
Pianos,  and  the  Steck  Pianos,  are  also  sold  in  Chicago  exclusively  by  us. 

The  Lyon  &  Healy  Piano,  and  the  Washburn  Piano,  both  being 
products  of  our  own  factory,  form  an  important  part  of  our  piano 
business. 

About  fifteen  or  twenty  other  makes  of  Pianos  are  also  included  in 
this  department. 

Another  important  branch  of  our  retail  business  is  the  sale  of 
Victrolas  and  Victor  Records.  Our  stock  of  Victor  Records  is  by  far  the 
most  comprehensive  available  anywhere.  The  volume  of  business  we 
do  in  this  department  is  enormous,  and  has  assumed  a  position  of  vast 


Wholesale 


importance  in  our  business.  Victrolas  and  Victor  Records  are  also 
handled  by  us  at  wholesale,  and  have  been  since  the  inception  of  this 
instrument. 

In  the  field  of  small  musical  instruments,  such  as  violins,  flutes, 
guitars,  mandolins  and  the  like,  our  stock  covers  thousands  of  items,  in 
every  possible  variation. 

In  band  instruments  our  stock  includes  the  products  of  our  own 
factory,  and  also  those  of  other  important  American  manufacturers,  whose 
entire  output  is  marketed  by  us,  and  our  extensive  importations  from 
the  largest  factories  of  Europe. 

The  Lyon  &  Healy  Harp,  in  a  range  of  styles  and  prices,  forms 
another  important  department  of  our  retail  business,  and  occupies  a 
special  salesroom  on  the  fifth  floor. 

Our  stock  of  sheet  music  and  music  books  is  easily  the  largest  and 
most  complete  in  the  world.  This  stock  is  so  classified  that  almost  any 
song  or  composition  one  can  mention,  within  a  range  of  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  titles,  can  be  produced  at  a  moment's  notice. 

Our  extensive  experience  in  selling  all  kinds  and  grades  of  musical 
instruments,  from  the  finest  made  to  the  least  expensive,  has  demon- 
strated to  us  in  a  thousand  ways  that  the  increased  satisfaction  which 
accompanies  the  possession  of  a  superior  instrument  is  of  far  greater 
importance  than  the  difference  in  price.  For  this  reason,  and  not  because 
of  any  mere  commercial  motive,  we  generally  advise  our  customers  to 
purchase  as  good  an  instrument  as  they  can  afford.  We  feel  that  our 
great  and  varied  stocks,  with  so  many  possible  alternatives,  can  best 
serve  their  purpose  when  accompanied  by  an  intelligent  selling  service 
such  as  will  insure  the  ultimate  satisfaction  of  our  customers. 

The  supreme  contribution  of  Lyon  &  Healy  to  the  cause  of  music  is 
the  Lyon  &  Healy  Harp.  This  instrument,  which  was  first  brought  out 
in  1889,  is  generally  acknowledged  throughout  the  musical  world  as  the 
most  perfect  harp  made,  and  distinctly  superior  to  all  other  makes. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  experience  in  selling  and  repairing  harps 
of  the  best  makes  then  extant,  the  conviction  was  forced 


fi 


u 


E< 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
||  1 N     MUSIC 


the  Harp,  although  the  oldest  known  instrument  of  music,  had  by  no 
means  reached  its  final  form  of  development.  It  was  then  determined 
that  Lyon  &  Healy  should  make  the  perfecting  of  the  Harp  their  con- 
tribution to  the  advancement  of  music.  The  great  expenditures 
necessary  in  experimentation,  and  the  search  for  the  final  principle  of 
ideal  harp  construction,  have  necessitated  substantial  subsidies.  But 
the  success  of  the  instrument  in  musical  value  and  in  the  unqualified 
approval  of  the  highest  authorities  in  the  whole  world  of  music,  have 
amply  rewarded  our  efforts.  The  court  orchestras  of  the  various 
European  capitals,  and  other  celebrated  orchestras  in  Europe  and 
America,  have  now  for  many  years  used  the  Lyon  &  Healy  Harp.  The 
possession  of  a  Lyon  &  Healy  Harp  is  either  the  proud  achievement  or 
the  fond  dream  of  harpists  everywhere. 

It  now  seems  reasonably  certain  that  the  Harp,  for  generations 
after  the  patents  of  Lyon  &  Healy  expire,  must  necessarily  follow  the 
principle  discovered  by  our  inventors.  If  this  proves  true  the  Lyon  & 
Healy  Harp  will  take  its  place  as  a  distinct  and  permanent  achievement 
in  the  history  of  music. 

For  more  than  a  generation  it  has  been  the  policy  of  Lyon  &  Healy  Old 
to  buy  rare  old  violins  whenever  obtainable,  and  to  hold  them,  perhaps 
for  years,  awaiting  a  purchaser  whose  musical  appreciation  of  the  rare 
tone  qualities  of  these  old  violins  was  accompanied  by  the  ability  and 
willingness  to  pay  the  price  which  sentiment  places  upon  the  master- 
pieces of  an  earlier  century.  In  this  way  it  has  come  about  that  the 
Lyon  &  Healy  Collection  of  Old  Violins  is  unique  in  its  extent,  and  one 
of  the  world-shrines  of  violin  connoisseurs.  The  collection  has,  at  one 
time  or  another,  included  specimens  of  the  work  of  every  great  violin 
maker  of  the  past.  Although  many  of  these  genuine  old  violins  may  be 
purchased  at  prices  ranging  from  $50  to  $250,  some  of  the  rarer  ones 
run  high  into  the  thousands.  Here  are  a  few  typical  sales  of  the  better 
class: 

The  "Earl  Stradivarius,"  of  1722,  sold  at  $12,000. 

The  "Fritz  Kreisler  Stradivarius,"  of  1726,  at  $14,000. 


Violins 


Viano  (Reception  (Room       \  I/'/'/J/' 
^  v       -1  ft  7  /J^/ 


•' 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


The  "Healy  Stradivarius,"  of  1711,  at  $10,000. 

The  "Bott  Stradivarius,"  of  1722,  at  $  10,000. 

The  "Jansa  Stradivarius,"  of  1721,  at  $10,000. 

An  "Antonius  Stradivarius,"  of  1716,  at  $10,000. 

Another  of  1714,  at  $8,000;  and  a  large  number  at  from  $6,500 
to  $7,500. 

The  "King  Joseph  Guarnerius,"  probably  the  most  famous  violin 
made  by  Joseph  Guarnerius  del  Gesu,  dated  1737,  originally  formed  a 
part  of  the  Hawley  Collection.  It  was  purchased  by  us  in  1900  and 
afterwards  was  sold  to  the  late  H.  O.  Havemeyer  for  $12,000. 

By  no  means  least  among  the  significant  services  which  Lyon  &  Welcoming 
Healy  have  rendered  to  the  cause  of  music  has  been  the  policy  of  wel-    nt 
coming    innovations.     Every   new    thing    in    music    has    always    been 
confronted  by  tradition  and  prejudice,  and  nothing  but  the  firm  stand 
of   an    acknowledged    authority    can    quell    the    doubts    of  the    pro- 
fession  and   the   trade.      Very   early   in    their   career   Lyon   &  Healy 
observed  this  fact,  and  it  was  determined  once  for  all  that  the  policy 
of  the  house   should    be    progressive,    openminded,    sympathetic,    and 
courageous. 

The  first  instance  of  notable  import  was  the  appearance  of  the 
upright  piano,  in  1870.  While  other  piano  dealers  were  shaking  their 
heads  and  voicing  their  doubts  as  to  the  new  form  of  the  piano,  Mr.  Healy 
saw  the  logical  value  of  the  upright,  and  boldly  committed  the  reputation 
of  Lyon  &  Healy  to  the  support  of  a  new  and  unpopular  idea,  which 
has  since  gained  universal  acceptance. 

At  a  later  date  the  Pianola  was  similarly  threatened  with  that  worst 
of  all  fates,  to  be  damned  with  faint  praise.  But  Lyon  &  Healy  embold- 
ened by  the  unparalleled  success  of  their  policy  in  connection  with  the 
upright  piano,  gave  the  new  instrument  sympathetic,  whole-hearted, 
and  enthusiastic  recognition.  Encouraged  by  this  attitude  the  makers 
of  the  Pianola  went  forward  with  improvement  after  improvement,  until 
today  the  player-piano  is  everywhere  recognized  as  one  of  the  standard 
forms  of  the  piano. 


(jenerat  .tyusical  Instruments 
^'•'*  'Tlfth  floor 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


Although  the  phenomenal  popularity  of  the  Victrola  and  other  The  Phonograph 
sound  reproducing  instruments,  with  their  all-encompassing  range  of 
vocal  and  instrumental  music,  is  now  a  conspicuous  and  universally 
accepted  fact  throughout  the  world,  there  was  a  time  when  this  matchless 
instrument  was  looked  upon  as  a  mere  toy.  The  dignified  traditions 
of  the  music  trade  would  have  frowned  it  out  of  court.  It  might  have 
won  its  way  in  time  on  sheer  merit  alone,  but  the  history  of  all  great 
fundamental  inventions  emphasizes  the  unique  service  of  an  early 
sponsor.  Some  one  must  first  give  it  recognition  and  an  entree  to  the 
inner  circle.  Again  the  far-seeing  and  sympathetic  policy  of  Lyon  & 
Healy  put  the  pioneer  stamp  of  approval  upon  the  phonograph  or 
"talking  machine,"  and  from  that  day  to  this  its  progress  has  been  one 
prolonged  triumph.  The  Victrola  has  done  more  to  put  good  music 
into  the  homes  of  the  people,  in  the  schools,  and  in  out  of  the 
way  places,  than  all  other  agencies  combined  had  accomplished  up  / 

to  that  time.  (/  * 

For  a  number  of  years  the  regular  daily  free  concerts,  demonstrating  j//  / 

chiefly  the  Victrola,  have  afforded  us  a  pleasant  point  of  contact  with  the 
public,  and  have  proved  so  popular  that  they  are  now  one  of  the  standard 
features  of  our  business. 

The  new  Lyon  &  Healy  Concert  Hall,  on  the  first  floor,  with  an 
entrance  on  Jackson  Boulevard,  is  open  free  all  day  long.  A  select 
program  of  Victor  Records  and  by  various  musical  instruments  is  rendered 
daily  from  ten  until  five.  In  the  evening  the  hall  is  available  for  small 
musical  events. 

Whoever  fosters  the  production  and  the  increase  of  good  music 
adds  to  the  harmony,  the  power,  the  achievements,  and  the  joy  of 
human  life.  He  is  sending  forth  a  wave  that  gathers  new  energy  as  it 
goes,  and  thrills  each  successive  generation  with  a  stronger  and  a  more 
widely  diffused  power,  even  as  the  influence  of  every  great  master  of 
music  grows  greater  with  the  years. 

What  then  shall  we  say  of  the  great  and  far-reaching  service  rendered 
by  the  world's  foremost  music  house? 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


For  over  fifty  years  it  has  utilized  every  opportunity  to  place  the 
best  instruments  and  the  best  music  into  the  hands  of  music  makers  and 
music  loving  people  everywhere.  It  has  been  a  clearing  house  for  the 
music  ideas  of  the  whole  world.  It  has  encouraged  an  appreciation  of 
the  best  in  music,  and  has  done  exceedingly  much  to  make  the  best 
possible  of  attainment.  It  has  stood  for  progress  in  all  the  means 
of  making  music.  It  welcomes  you  today,  and  through  the  years  to 
come,  to  share  in  the  opportunities  it  provides,  and  to  unite  in  its  purpose 
to  bring  music  closer  into  human  life,  and  by  this  means  to  release  more 
and  more  of  the  latent  possibilities  of  mankind  for  happiness,  achieve- 
ment, and  progress. 


(Facsimile  of  the  oldest  available  copy  of  the  firm  signature,  written  in  1872 
by  Patrick  Joseph  Healy.) 


OUR 

MANUFACTURING 
IDEALS 

EVERY  musical  instrument,  to  be  worthy  of  its 
opportunity,  to  justify  the  interest  and  skill 
bestowed  upon  it  by  the  musician,  to  be  a  perpetual 
source  of  inspiration  to  the  player,  and  to  afford  the 
fullest  measure  of  enjoyment  and  intellectual  profit  to 
those  who  hear  it,  should  be  so  made  that  it  will  yield 
the  greatest  possible  tone  value,  that  it  will  grow  richer 
with  right  use,  that  it  will  resist  the  changes  of  atmos- 
phere and  climate,  that  its  beauty  will  win  for  it 
respect  and  careful  preservation,  and  that  its  sub- 
stantial construction  will  insure  for  it  a  long  and 
useful  life. 

Such  are  the  ideals  which  dominate  our  manu- 
facturing department,  and  such  are  the  instruments 
we  produce.  To  this  end  it  is  our  policy  to  employ 
workmen  of  exceptional  skill,  knowledge  and  expe- 
rience; to  inspire  them  to  work  for  the  ideal  in  every 
minute  detail,  and  to  find  in  their  work  an  opportunity 
for  the  expression  of  their  increasing  skill;  to  provide 
the  best  materials,  methods  and  processes  that  can  be 
found;  to  delve  deeply  into  the  undiscovered  possi- 
bilities of  each  element  that  can  in  any  degree  affect 
the  tone  value  of  the  instrument;  and  to  make  every 
production  a  matter  of  pride  for  an  organization 
equipped  and  inspired  for  superior  achievements. 


LYON    &    HEALY 


DURING  THE  FIFTY-TWO  YEARS  OF  ITS  CAREER  THIS 
BUSINESS  HAS  OCCUPIED  IN  TURN  THE  SIX  BUILDINGS 
SHOWN  ON  THESE  TWO  BRONZE  TABLETS  WHICH 
ADORN  THE  MAIN  ENTRANCE  OF  OUR  NEW  BUILDING. 


His 

torical 

Ske 

tch 

THE  music  house  of  Lyon  &  Healy,  now  entering  a  new  epoch 
in  its  career  in  the  occupancy  of  its  new  building  in  May,  1916, 
has  grown  from  small  beginnings  to  its  present  position  of 
supremacy  in  the  music  business. 

It  was  in  October,  1864,  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  War,  that 
Lyon  &  Healy  began  business  in  Chicago.  The  firm  name  bears  the 
distinction  of  being  one  of  the  very  few  in  the  city  that  has  remained 
unchanged  through  the  vicissitudes  of  half  a  century. 

The  first  store  of  Lyon  &  Healy  was  located  at  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington and  Clark  Streets,  on  the  spot  where  the  Conway  Building  now 
stands.  Then,  as  now,  the  site  was  opposite  the  County  Court 
House,  and  in  the  center  of  what  was  then  the  leading  retail  section 
of  the  city. 

The  founders  of  the  business,  George  W.  Lyon,  and  Patrick  Joseph 
Healy,  had  been  for  some  years  previous  employes  in  the  music  houses 
of  Oliver  Ditson  &  Co.  and  Henry  Tolman  in  Boston.  In  May,  1864, 
the  two  men  decided  to  move  to  Chicago  and  engage  in  business  as 
Western  representatives  for  the  Ditson  productions.  After  making  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  situation,  the  new  firm  arranged  to  open 
for  business  in  the  fall.  The  principal  business  of  the  house  at  that 
time  was  in  sheet  music  and  books,  small  musical  instruments  and 
cabinet  organs. 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


li 


From  the  start  the  business  grew  rapidly  and  soon  exceeded  all 
expectations.  The  Boston  concern  sought  to  encourage  the  young  men 
by  saying:  "If  you  have  good  luck,  in  ten  years'  time  you  will  do  a 
business  of  $100,000  a  year."  Before  the  first  year  was  up  the  new  firm 
had  passed  that  mark,  and  many  new  lines  had  been  added. 

After  five  successful  years  spent  at  their  first  location,  Lyon  &  Healy 
moved  to  larger  quarters  in  the  new  Drake  Building  on  Wabash  Avenue 
and  Washington  Street.  By  this  time  they  were  doing  both  a  wholesale 
and  retail  business,  and  their  trade  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds. 

On  September  4, 1870,  after  being  in  the  new  home  but  a  few  months, 
the  building  was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  The  great  task  of  gathering 
together  another  representative  stock  of  musical  merchandise  was 
promptly  undertaken,  and  a  building  was  leased  at  150  South  Clark 
Street.  Soon  the  stock  of  Lyon  &  Healy  was  larger  and  more  complete 
than  before,  notwithstanding  the  severe  loss  of  the  former  store. 

In  the  Spring  of  1871,  Lyon  &  Healy  took  over  the  piano  business 
of  Smith  &  Nixon,  who  had  occupied  the  premises  jointly,  which 
marked  a  further  step  in  the  expansion  of  the  business. 

Then,  in  October,  1871,  came  the  great  Chicago  Fire,  which  wiped  out 
the  principal  part  of  the  city,  including  the  establishment  of  Lyon  &  Healy. 
Fortunately  there  was  sufficient  time  after  the  fire  began  its  work  of  devas- 
tation for  Mr.  Healy  and  some  of  his  employes  to  get  to  the  store  at  night 
and  carry  away  thecontentsofthesafe,includingthemoney,billsreceivable, 
ledger,  and  other  valuable  papers,  to  a  place  of  safety  on  the  West  Side. 

After  the  Fire,  which  swept  so  many  Chicago  firms  out  of  business, 
Lyon  &  Healy  secured  temporary  quarters  in  a  small  store  at  287  West 
Madison  Street,  and  later,  to  get  more  space  and  a  better  location,  they 
moved  into  a  little  church  building  on  Wabash  Avenue  at  the  corner  of 
Sixteenth  Street.  Here  they  waited  the  better  part  of  a  year  while  the 
business  section  of  the  city  was  being  cleared  of  debris  and  rebuilt. 

Fortunately  the  insurance  carried  by  Lyon  &  Healy  had  been  so 
judiciously  placed  that  85%  of  its  face  value  was  realized,  which  made 
it  possible  for  the  business  to  continue  in  spite  of  the  great  disaster. 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


In  1872,  a  store  was  secured  at  162  South  State  Street,  it  being  fore- 
seen that  this  location  would  be  in  the  heart  of  the  new  retail  district. 
Again  the  business  prospered,  despite  the  deferred  payments  made  neces- 
sary by  the  Fire,  and  additional  space  was  acquired  in  the  adjoining 
corner  store,  and  various  upper  floors  were  added  until  finally  the 
entire  corner  block  at  the  northwest  corner  of  State  and  Monroe 
Streets  was  occupied. 

Here  the  business  grew  and  prospered  until  that  next  great  epoch 
in  Chicago's  history,  the  World's  Fair,  in  1893. 

In  October,  1889,  Mr.  George  W.  Lyon,  senior  partner  of  the 
firm,  who  was  then  approaching  seventy  years  of  age,  retired  from  the 
business,  and  his  interests,  and  the  right  to  continue  the  use  of  his 
name,  were  acquired  by  the  corporation  of  Lyon  &  Healy,  which  was 
formed  at  that  time.  For  the  next  twenty-four  years  the  affairs 
of  the  firm  were  directed  by  Mr.  Patrick  Joseph  Healy  and  his 
official  associates. 

The  ideas  for  the  expansion  of  the  business,  which  had  long  been 
fostered  chiefly  by  Mr.  Healy,  were  now  put  into  execution.  The 
factories,  which  had  been  established  in  a  small  way  for  the  production 
of  musical  instruments,  had  outgrown  their  quarters  and  a  large  new 
factory  building  was  erected  some  distance  from  the  center  of  the  city, 
opposite  one  of  the  parks.  Within  a  year  the  annual  output  of  the 
Lyon  &  Healy  factory  was  100,000  musical  instruments,  or  "one  musical 
instrument  every  other  working  minute." 

Immediately  following  the  World's  Fair,  and  as  the  result  of  a 
continued  expansion  of  the  business,  Lyon  &  Healy  removed  to  the  block 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  Wabash  Avenue  and  Adams  Street.  This 
building,  gradually  augmented  by  various  floors  in  the  adjoining  building, 
continued  to  serve  the  needs  of  the  retail  and  wholesale  portion  of  the 
business  until  the  new  building  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  1916. 

On  other  pages  will  be  found  faithful  reproductions  in  bronze  of  the 
various  buildings  above  mentioned,  which  form  beautiful  tablets  flank- 
ing the  main  entrance  of  the  new  building. 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


In  1914,  the  factory  building  of  1900,  by  this  time  outgrown,  was 
superseded  by  another  and  larger  factory  building,  located  on  Fullerton 
Avenue  at  Crawford  Avenue,  and  which  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
manufacturing  department  of  Lyon  &  Healy,  its  activities,  however, 
being  augmented  by  absorbing  the  entire  output  of  other  factories 
operated  according  to  the  specifications  of  Lyon  &  Healy. 

Mr.  Patrick  Joseph  Healy,  after  forty-one  years  of  active  service  in 
the  upbuilding  of  the  business,  died,  April  3,  1905. 

The  responsibilities  he  laid  down  were  taken  up  by  the  remaining 
members  of  the  corporation,  and  the  business  carried  forward  in  the 
same  spirit  of  idealism  and  progressiveness  which  has  ever  characterized 
the  institution.  The  president  of  the  company,  Mr.  Robert  B.  Gregory, 
has  been  with  the  business  since  its  beginning  in  1864.  The  vice-president 
is  a  son  of  Mr.  Healy.  The  secretary  has  been  with  the  business  since 
1870,  and  the  treasurer  since  1883. 

The  present  officers  of  Lyon  &  Healy  are: 
ROBERT  B.  GREGORY,  President. 

MARQUETTE  A.  HEALY,  Vice-President  and  General  Manager. 
JAMES  F.  BOWERS,  Secretary. 
CHARLES  R.  FULLER,  Treasurer. 

The  cumulative  experience  of  the  Lyon  &  Healy  organization  is 
suggested  by  the  following  roster  of  persons  who  have  been  connected 
with  the  business  for  a  great  many  years: 

OVER  50  YEARS 
R.  B.  GREGORY  BENJAMIN  DOPKER 

OVER  45  YEARS 
JAMES  F.  BOWERS 


OVER  35  YEARS 


A.  H.  OPFERGELT 
v.  C.  BALLUFF 


H.  B.  TUTTLE 
JOHN  P.  MCGRATH 


J.  H.  HOWENSTEIN 

BENJ.  H.  JEFFERSON 


R.  KIESSIO 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


OVER  30  YEARS 


CHARLES  R.  FULLER 
HENRY  HANSES 
THOMAS  MACAULEY 


BERNARD  M.  CASPERS 
JAY  C.  FREEMAN 
OMUND  LARSON 
EDW.  F.  O'BRIEN 
Miss  LOUISE  BOCK 
Miss  CLARA  O'BRIEN 


JOHN  M.  HAMPE 
HUGO  H.  HANDKE 


ROBERT  J.  ARSCOTT 
ERNEST  G.  CLAYSON 
J.  M.  DVORAK 
Q.  E.  PRIBYL 
CHAS.  F.  IPPEL 
JAMES  CAREY 


HANTS  AGARDH 
THOMAS  F.  DELANEY 


E.  H.   McCLEVEY 

M.  PETERSON 
JOHN  E.  BYRNE 
WM.  FILTER 
M.  OPLANN 
MICHAEL  WELDON 


THOMAS  WELCH 
AUGUST  MICHAELIS 


WM.  RICHIGER 
PAUL  GUSHURST 
NICHOLAS  BAUERS 
JAMES  TRANTINA 
PETER  COYLE 


OVER  20  YEARS 


EDW.  P.  BRENNAN 
JOHN  DUBBS 
CHARLES  J.  MULVEY 
WM.  A.  STAPLETON 
FRANK  C.  TRANTINA 


FRANK  ODENBACH 
A.  J.  LEHMKUHL 
J.  FRANK  MELODY 
GEORGE  H.  HEMLER 
C.  GLUMSO 


B.  T.  McNuLTY 
P.  C.  VITU 
AUGUST  FISCHER 
CHARLES  HINDRINGER 

C.  F.  FABER 


HARRY  TUNICA 

Miss  PAULINE  FLAHERTY 

ARTHUR  H.  DAVIS 

EDW.  G.  BECHT 

W.  I.  KIRK 


OVER  15  YEARS 


HARRY  J.  FIDDELKE 
WM.  H.  RIDGWAY 
JAS.  A.  MACDONALD 
EDWARD  O'BRIEN 
E.  T.  ROOT 
FRANK  METER 
WM.  J.  DONAHUE 


WILLIAM  WALSH 
LEO  MILLER 
JOHN  WISNIEWSKI 
HERBERT  SCHUENEMAN 
PAUL  C  WAGNER 
V.  LAUSMANN 

LOUIS  GUNTHER 

Miss  EDNA  CARROLL 

Miss  ELLA  DAHLKE 

J.  P.  DURKIN 

JOE  MAYWORM 

HENRY  HANSEN 

H.  L.  JOHNSON 

Miss  MATHILDE  WEBER 


LESLIE  C.  WISWELL 
JOEL  B.  RYDE 
PAUL  F.  CLAUSSEN 

EDW.   FlTZMAURICE 

FRED  C.  BROWERS 
WM.  BUNNING 
FRANK  C.  JOHNSTON 


JAMES  BYRNE 
CRESS  JONES 
MICHAEL  O'BRIEN 
NICHOLAS  DAVIDS 
WM   H.  COLLINS 
E.  A.  JOLL 
JOE  TOHT 


OVER  10  YEARS 


MATTHEW  FITZGERALD 
ERNEST  HOLMES 
WALTER  ROACH 
JOSEPH  N.  VASEY 
ROLEY  MEAUX 
Miss  SARAH  LESSICK 
JAMES  HACKEL 
ROBERT  STANTON 
CHARLES  KAHL 
HERMAN  KROEPLIN 
HOWARD  WALLACE 
GUSTAVE  MINX 
Jos.  KULICEK 
W.  H.  SCOUTEN 


S.   M.  GlLMORE 

RICHARD  HINE 
W.  N.  GRAVES 
W.  S.  BALLOU 
GEO.  W.  CRONENWETT 
STEVEN  A.  CLAUSS 
TONY  SUTULA 
FRANK  T.  RANDALL 
JOHN  E.  MOONEY 
JACOB  FEIFEL 
EDW.  J.  RUSH 
GUSTAVE  LUEBS 
EDW.  SALLMAN 
ADOLPH  SAUSELLE 


AUGUST  PIETSCH 
E.  T.  NICHOL 
ARNOLD  LEONARD 
GUSTAVE  HENNING 
ANTONE  SMID 
ENGELBERTH  HOLUB 


Miss  MOLLIE  MANEY 
CHRISTIAN  MADSEN 
MARQUETTE  A.  HEALY 
ALPHONSE  SCANNELL 
CARL  SEABLOM 
GEORGE  STROHM 
GERALD  HIRSCH 
WILLIAM  SAGERT 
ARTHUR  KRAEMER 
CHARLES  CHASKE 
OSCAR  CHAPLEAU 
D.  A.  MCDONALD 
Miss  T.  MACRAE 


Chicago  as  a  Musical  Center 

By  Felix  Borowski 


\ 


IT  is  only  of  recent  years  that  the  value  of  music  as  a  civic  asset  has 
been  properly  appreciated.  Formerly  it  was  believed  that  a  fine 
picture  gallery,  a  wonderful  orchestra,  an  imposing  operatic  estab- 
lishment, were  admirable  things  to  bring  relaxation  to  people,  who, 
spending  their  days  in  the  pursuit  of  commerce,  needed  some  artistic 
solace  to  carry  tranquility  to  their  tired  souls.  That  the  fame  of  an 
orchestra  might  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  a  city  in  other  respects 
than  artistic  reputation  alone  was  first  made  manifest  by  Chicago. 
The  discovery  having  been  brought  about  that  art  and  advertisement 
are  much  more  intimately  related  than  previously  they  had  been  believed 
to  be,  other  cities — Minneapolis,  for  instance — have  enthusiastically 
adopted  the  former  and  have  also  reaped  the  commercial  advantages  of 
the  latter. 

In  regard  to  importance  as  a  musical  center,  only  one  city  in  the 
United  States  can  compete  with  Chicago.  That  city  is  New  York. 
For  many  years  the  fame  of  Chicago  as  an  artistic  metropolis  was  bound 
up  with  the  fame  of  the  Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra.  That  organization 
—now  called  the  Chicago  Symphony  Orchestra — is  still  keeping  the 
city  in  the  front  rank  of  the  musical  centers  of  the  world;  but  in  per- 
forming that  function  it  is  now  ably  supported  by  other  organizations. 

The  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Association  has  done  much  to  bring 
Chicago  to  the  notice  of  music-loving  people  everywhere.  The  great 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


schools,  the  imposing  number  of  choral  organizations,  the  musical  clubs, 
the  societies — such  as  the  Civic  Music  Association  and  the  Chicago 
Band  Association — which  aim  to  bring  good  music  close  to  the  people, 
have  aroused  much  favorable  comment  throughout  the  country. 

It  is  one  of  the  outward  symbols  of  the  fame  of  Chicago  as  a  musical 
center  that  it  has  attracted,  and  still  attracts,  students  from  European 
countries  and  from  other  continents,  who  come  in  order  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  rich  artistic  opportunities  that  now  are  to  be  found  here. 
There  were  days  when  Germany,  Austria,  France  and  Italy  drew  thou- 
sands of  students  from  America — days  in  which  it  was  believed  that 
only  abroad  could  musical  atmosphere  be  found.  Now  Americans  have 
discovered  their  own  country;  they  have  discovered  that  it  is  no  longer 
necessary  nor  expedient  to  leave  their  native  land  when  in  a  city  like 
Chicago  there  are  one  of  the  greatest  orchestras  in  the  world,  one  of  the 
foremost  operatic  organizations,  several  of  the  largest  and  most  complete 
schools  to  be  found  anywhere.  At  least  one  of  these  colleges  has  gathered 
its  students  not  only  from  Maine  to  California,  but  on  its  roster  there 
are  to  be  found  the  names  of  students  from  Russia,  Denmark,  Germany, 
Sweden,  Turkey,  Poland,  Japan,  Mexico,  Britain  and  other  lands. 
Probably  the  same  tale  could  be  told  in  other  schools. 

The  Chicago  Symphony  Orchestra,  practically  the  first  of  the  great 
organizations  of  the  city  to  carry  the  artistic  renown  of  Chicago  to  other 
lands,  came  into  existence  in  1891  as  the  result  the  endeavors  of  a  number 
of  public-spirited  citizens  to  supply  the  city  with  a  permanent  orchestra. 
Theodore  Thomas,  who  had  accomplished  extraordinary  labors  for  the 
cause  of  the  better  music — and  particularly  orchestral  music — through- 
out America,  was  made  conductor  with  full  control  of  the  organization 
itself  and  of  the  programs  which  it  was  to  set  before  the  public.  The 
first  home  of  the  Chicago  Orchestra  was  in  the  Auditorium. 

Every  week  the  orchestra  gave  two  concerts,  on  Friday  afternoons 
and  on  Saturday  evenings,  and  this  it  still  does;  but  the  number  of 
concerts  in  the  course  of  the  season  which,  during  the  first  years,  was 
twenty,  was  augmented  to  twenty-two  in  1895,  to  twenty-four  in  1901 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


Mlit 


and  to  twenty-eight  in  1906*  For  years  the  performances  were  carried 
on  at  a  loss,  and  the  deficits,  ranging  from  $54,000  the  first  season  to 
$21,000  in  later  years,  were  met  by  the  guarantors.  Eventually  it  was 
felt  that  something  should  be  done  to  make  the  Chicago  Orchestra  fully 
self-supporting  and  it  was  resolved  that  the  first  step  must  be  to  put 
it  into  a  permanent  home  of  its  own.  The  public  was  appealed  to  and 
Orchestra  Hall  was  built  in  1904,  and  8,500  contributors  gave  the  fund 
that  made  this  possible.  Theodore  Thomas  did  not  long  survive  the 
establishment  of  his  orchestra  in  its  new  home.  In  1905  he  died  and 
his  place  as  conductor  was  filled  by  Frederick  Stock,  whom  Thomas 
had  previously  chosen  and  trained  as  his  successor,  a  director  of  brilliant 
gifts  who,  earlier  in  Thomas'  regime,  had  been  for  ten  years  one  of  the 
viola  players  in  the  orchestra. 

So  great  has  become  the  popularity  of  the  Chicago  Symphony 
Orchestra  that  there  are  no  longer  deficits  to  be  met,  and  the  performances 
given  on  Friday  afternoons  have  for  many  seasons  been  sold  out  to 
subscribers  long  before  the  seasons  themselves  have  begun.  But  the 
labors  of  the  organization  do  not  begin  and  end  with  its  two  weekly 
concerts.  Every  season  a  series  of  twelve  popular  concerts  are  given 
at  low  rates  of  admission. 

The  organization  conducted  by  Mr.  Stock  is  not,  however,  the  sole 
example  of  its  kind.  The  American  Symphony  Orchestra,  founded  in 
1915,  came  into  existence  as  the  result  oif  the  efforts  made  by  Glenn 
Dillard  Gunn  to  accomplish  more  for  the  native  musician  than  he 
believed  was  being  accomplished.  The  orchestra  gave  performances  in 
1915  and  1916,  of  American  compositions,  and  in  the  latter  year  it  gave 
a  series  of  popular  concerts  on  Sunday  afternoons. 

The  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Association  is  a  factor  of  great  moment 
in  the  development  of  music  in  Chicago.  As  the  Chicago  Grand  Opera 
Company  it  came  into  existence  in  1910  with  Andreas  Dippel  as  general 
manager  and  with  Cleofonte  Campanini  as  musical  director,  who  after- 
wards became  general  director.  Many  of  the  most  famous  singers  in 
the  world  are  in  the  company,  which,  as  to  the  brilliancy  of  its  ensemble, 


1BVERYTHINC      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


has  only  the  Metropolitan  Opera  Company  of  New  York  as  its  rival. 
The  Chicago  Grand  Opera  Association  gives  a  season  of  ten  weeks  at 
the  Auditorium.  In  former  years  it  spread  its  activities  over  a  longer 
period  of  time  by  presenting  performances  in  other  cities,  including 
New  York,  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  but  in  1915-1916  its  work  was 
confined  entirely  to  Chicago.  Seasons  of  grand  opera  are  also  presented 
by  the  Boston  Opera  Company. 

There  are  not  many  cities  of  the  world  in  which  choral  music  is 
cultivated  so  extensively  as  it  is  in  Chicago.  Of  the  choral  organizations 
the  oldest  and  the  most  celebrated  is  the  Apollo  Musical  Club.  Lyon 
&  Healy,  a  firm  which  has  been  generous  in  coming  forward  with  assist- 
ance, for  artistic  enterprises  that  are  worthy  of  support,  helped  to 
bring  the  Apollo  Club  into  existence.  For  it  was  in  Lyon  &  Healy's 
music  store — then  temporarily  at  the  corner  of  Wabash  Avenue  and 
Sixteenth  Street — that  the  project  of  establishing  a  choral  organization 
first  was  discussed.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  1872.  The  Apollo  Club 
began  as  a  male  voice  chorus  and  its  first  concert  was  given  at  Standard 
Hall,  at  Michigan  Avenue  and  Thirteenth  Street,  January  2 1 , 1 873,  the  pro- 
gram consisting  of  part-songs  with  instrumental  and  vocal  solos  inter- 
spersed. In  1875  the  club  was  reconstructed  as  a  mixed  voice  chorus  and 
William  L.  Tomlins  was  appointed  conductor.  Since  that  time  the  Apollo 
Club  has  become  of  great  importance  and  for  many  years  has  ranked  as 
the  foremost  choral  organization  in  the  country.  Most  of  the  great  works 
for  chorus  and  orchestra  have  been  interpreted  by  it  under  the  conductor- 
ship  of  Mr.  Tomlins  or  of  Harrison  M.  Wild,  who  succeeded  him  in  1898. 

Mr.  Wild  also  is  the  director  of  the  Mendelssohn  Club,  a  male  voice 
chorus  which  gave  its  first  concert  in  1895.  This  has  become  a  highly 
popular  organization  with  music-lovers  in  Chicago.  The  three  concerts 
which  it  presents  each  season  are  given  in  Orchestra  Hall,  most  of  them 
with  a  soloist  of  notable  attainments. 

Among  other  choral  societies  made  up  of  mixed  voices  there  are  a 
number  that  offer  important  concerts.  There  should  be  mentioned  the 
Chicago  Madrigal  Club,  the  Haydn  Choral  Society,  the  Bach  Choral 


N 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


Society,  the  Marshall  Field  &  Company  Choral  Society  and  the  Inter- 
national Harvester  Choral  Society,  composed  entirely  of  their  employes; 
the  Chicago  Teachers'  Chorus,  composed  of  instructors  in  the  public 
schools;  the  American  Choral  Society,  the  Ravenswood  Men's  Chorus; 
the  Evanston  Musical  Club  and  the  colossal  chorus  which  takes  part 
in  the  famous  North  Shore  Festival  performances  given  in  May  in  the 
Northwestern  University  gymnasium  at  Evanston. 

In  addition  to  these  organizations,  all  of  which  present  their  con- 
certs in  the  large  halls  of  the  city — generally  Orchestra  Hall — and 
frequently  with  orchestra,  there  are  a  great  number  of  choral  organiza- 
tions in  Chicago  which  are  associated  with  foreign-born  music  lovers 
and  their  friends.  The  German  singing  societies  are  numerous  and 
many  of  them  offer  concerts  of  much  interest.  Of  these  the  Chicago 
Sing-Verein,  the  Germania  Mannerchor  and  the  Sennefelder  Lieder- 
Kranz  are  among  the  most  prominent.  Great  worth  has  attached 
icself  to  the  activities  of  the  Swedish  Choral  Club,  which  presents  two 
concerts  in  Orchestra  Hall  every  season  and  which  makes  a  feature  of 
Scandinavian  art.  These  choruses  come  into  touch  with  the  artistic 
life  of  the  city  as  that  flows  through  the  main  currents  downtown, 
but  there  are  a  vast  number  of  choral  societies  having  their  homes  in 
the  foreign  settlements  and  which  only  occasionally  are  heard  by  the 
public  at  large.  Thus  there  are  Polish,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Italian, 
Ruthenian  and  other  choruses. 

A  word  or  two  must  be  devoted  to  the  valuable  labors  that  are  being 
carried  on  in  providing  music  for  the  outlying  districts  of  Chicago  and 
other  centers  of  population  not  accessible  to  its  central  district. 

Among  the  organizations  which  have  accomplished  admirable 
things  in  the  small  parks  and  in  other  places  where  good  music  can  be 
carried  to  the  people,  there  must  be  mentioned  the  Civic  Music  Asso- 
ciation. This  was  organized  in  1913  and  in  three  seasons  has  presented 
concerts  to  an  immense  number  of  people.  This  civic  or  community 
music,  which  is  given  in  the  Field  houses,  in  the  playground  parks  or 
in  the  auditoriums  of  the  public  schools,  is  not,  the  Association  declares, 


EVERYTHING      KNOWN 
IN      MUSIC 


offered  to  the  people  as  a  charity  nor  as  a  philanthropy,  but  as  a  matter 
of  good  citizenship.  Nor  are  the  concerts  of  the  Civic  Music  Association 
presented  by  any  but  the  best  singers  and  performers. 

Another  organization  which  has  done  much  to  foster  good  music  is 
the  Chicago  Band  Association,  which  states  its  artistic  and  civic  mission 
as  follows:  "It  was  organized  and  is  supported  by  public  spirited  men 
and  women  of  Chicago  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  for  Chicago  a 
splendid  band,  provide  free  concerts  for  the  people  of  our  city  in  localities 
where  music  is  unquestionably  a  power  for  good,  and  send  the  Chicago 
Band  on  concert  tours  throughout  America,  all  calculated  to  add  prestige 
and  distinction  to  Chicago." 

The  societies  organized  for  the  betterment  of  music  and  musicians 
in  Chicago  are  numerous  and  energetic.  The  Society  of  American 
Musicians  is  doing  admirable  work  in  the  exploitation  of  American  art 
and  the  concerts  which  it  offers  at  nominal  prices  in  Fullerton  Hall  (Art 
Institute),  not  only  afford  many  opportunities  to  local  artists,  but  they 
are  a  valuable  source  of  recreation  and  education  for  the  public. 

The  violinists  also  have  their  own  organization,  the  American 
Guild  of  Violinists.  Similarly  the  organists  and  choirmasters  in  the 
city  have  opportunity  to  compare  notes  when  they  meet  at  the  Baton 
Club.  More  extensive,  perhaps,  than  any  of  the  labors  of  the  societies 
already  mentioned  are  those  of  the  women's  musical  clubs.  Of  these  the 
two  largest  are  the  Amateur  Musical  Club — which  in  future  will  be  known 
as  the  Musicians  Club  of  Chicago — and  the  Lake  View  Musical  Society. 

The  Amateur  Musical  Club,  which  officially  describes  itself  as  "an 
association  of  women,  formed  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  musical 
talent  of  its  members  and  stimulating  musical  interest  in  Chicago," 
was  founded  in  1875.  The  organization  comprises  more  than  300  active 
members  and  about  400  associate  members.  Fourteen  concerts  are 
given  during  the  season,  some  of  these  being  recitals  presented  under  the 
auspices  of  the  club  by  artists  of  renown.  Work  of  similar  character 
is  carried  on  by  the  Lake  View  Musical  Society,  a  north  side  organiza- 
tion, also  numerically  extensive.  There  are  other  women's  clubs  accom- 


\ 


plishing  effective  results — the  Chicago  Woman's  Musical  Club,  the  Ken- 
wood Matinee  Musical  Club,  the  Bush  Temple  Women's  Club,  and  others. 

The  music  educational  resources  of  Chicago  are  larger,  perhaps,  than 
they  are  in  any  other  city  of  the  country.  There  are  15,000  students  of 
music  in  the  musical  colleges  and  under  the  instruction  of  private  teachers. 

One  of  the  important  music  educational  features  of  Chicago  is  the 
public  library  system  of  providing  the  people  with  access  to  the  best 
musical  literature.  The  Newberry  Library  has  attained  national  fame 
for  its  musical  collection.  The  works  on  music  and  the  scores  of  instru- 
mental and  vocal  compositions  are  numerous  and  of  exceeding  interest 
and  instructiveness,  and  the  collection  includes  a  large  number  of  sacred 
works.  Founded  in  1887,  the  Newberry  Library  was  established,  and 
is  still  maintained,  purely  as  a  reference  library.  A  public  circulating 
library  of  music  did  not  exist  in  Chicago  until  two  years  ago,  when  such 
a  department  was  introduced  into  the  Chicago  Public  Library.  This 
has  been  a  great  success  and  it  is  planned  to  extend  the  collections — 
already  extensive — of  sheet  music  and  scores.  In  addition  to  its  cir- 
culating department  of  music  the  Public  Library  also  possesses  an 
important  section  devoted  to  books  on  music. 

There  are  a  number  of  musical  trade  journals  published  and  repre- 
sented in  Chicago.  Publishers  of  music  abound — there  are  nearly 
sixty — and  dealers  in  music  number  more  than  eighty.  Of  these — 
Lyon  &  Healy — possesses  the  distinction  of  being  the  largest  business 
of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

Most  of  the  musical  activity  that  has  been  reviewed  in  this  sketch 
is  unfolded  during  the  season,  which  extends  from  October  until  May, 
but  even  in  the  summer  months  Chicago  is  abundantly  supplied  with 
music.  At  Ravinia  Park,  one  of  the  North  Shore  suburbs,  the  Chicago 
Symphony  Orchestra  is  to  be  heard  there  in  daily  concerts,  and  per- 
formances of  grand  opera  are  presented  by  high  class  artists.  Similarly 
the  educational  features  of  Chicago  are  largely  continued  through  the 
summer  for  the  benefit  of  students — many  of  whom  are  themselves 
teachers — who  are  unable  to  come  to  the  city  during  the  season. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE    ORCHESTRA 

BY 

FELIX  BOROWSKI 

MUSIC  finds  its  most  complete  and  satisfying 
expression  in  the  modern  orchestra.  Em- 
bracing many  instruments  the  orchestra  as  a  whole 
becomes  the  supreme  instrument.  Its  range  is 
practically  that  of  the  human  ear — from  the  gentle 
whisper  of  a  zephyr  to  the  fury  of  a  thunder-storm. 
Every  emotion  of  the  human  heart,  from  the  holy 
thrill  of  seraphic  joy  to  the  anguish  of  a  soul  in 
despair,  finds  a  faithful  delineation  in  the  tones  of 
the  orchestra. 

The  enjoyment  of  music  is  immeasurably  en- 
hanced by  intelligent  glimpses  of  the  composer's 
soul  message  as  caught  through  an  understanding  of 
the  language  of  the  instruments. 

The  history,  function  and  subtleties  of  each  instru- 
ment of  the  orchestra  would  require  volumes.  The 
aim  in  these  pages  is  to  give  a  brief  comment  on 
each  instrument  within  the  range  of  the  interest 
of  the  general  reader. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


In  former  days  we  had  the  viol  in 

Ere  the  true  instrument  had  come  about, 

But  now  we  say,  since  this  all  ears   doth  win, 
The  violin  hath  put  the  viol  out. 


THE  VIOLIN 

A  LINEAL  descendant  of  the  old  viol,  the  violin  first  came  into  use 
in  the  i6th  century,  but  it  did  not  succeed  in  putting  its  parent 
out  of  existence  until  the  iyth  century  had  grown  old.    That  the 
viols  were  effectually  silenced  by  that  time  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  verse,  which  dates  from  1670: 
The  instrument  is  made  of  some 
seventy  pieces  of  wood,  of  which  sixty 
are  built  permanently  into  the  struc- 
ture; the  remainder — the  bridge,  tail 

piece,  etc. — are  movable  fittings.  The  four  strings  of  the  violin, 
tuned  in  fifths,  are  made  of  catgut.  While  the  sounds  which  some- 
times are  drawn  from  them  by  inexpert  performers  are  indeed  suggestive 
of  the  noises  which  are  wafted  into  the  night  by  Grimalkin,  vocally 
enthusiastic,  the  catgut  in  violin  strings  has  nothing  to  do  with  cats, 
but  is  a  material  made  from  the  intestines  of  the  sheep.  The  violin 
bow  in  its  present  form  dates  from  the  end  of  the  i8th  century.  It 
consists  of  a  stick  of  Pernambuco  wood,  to  which  are  fastened  from 
100  to  150  hairs  taken  from  the  tails  of  white  horses. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  VIOLA 

THE  viola  is  an  older  instrument  than  the  violin,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  1 6th  century  it  possessed  even  the  name — "violino"  or 
"violon" — by  which  the  violin  is  known  today.  It  was  in  the 
1 7th  century  that  the  latter  instrument  not  only  outstripped  the  viola 
in  popularity,  but  deprived  it  of  its  original  name.  The  viola  is  one- 
seventh  in  size  larger  than  the  violin,  but  some  of  the  earliest  instru- 
ments— those  made  by  Caspar  da  Salo  in  the  i6th  century,  for  instance 
— were  much  bigger.  The  instruments  employed  by  players  in  the 
days  of  Bach  and  Handel  were  not  only  considerably  smaller  than  da 
Salo's  were,  but  even  smaller  than  the  violas  which  are  in  use  today. 
The  viola  possesses  four  strings,  tuned,  like  those  of  the  violin,  in  fifths; 
but  their  pitch  is  a  fifth  lower  than  those  of  the  latter  instrument.  Its 
lowest  string  is  '.*'  "  I  which,  in  order  to  make  its  pitch  clear  to  the 
lay  reader,  is  given  here  in  the  bass  clef;  but  viola  players  read  their 
music  in  the  alto  clef:  IH  A  number  of  fine  old  violas  are  owned 

in  Chicago. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  VIOLONCELLO 

THE  violoncello  is  a  direct  descendant  of  that  member  of  the  viol 
family,  the  bass  viol  or  viola  da  gamba,  which  in  the  i6th  and 
1 7th  centuries  was  the  most  popular  stringed  instrument  played 
with  a  bow.     Like  the  violoncello,  the  bass  viol  was  held  between  the 
knees,  but  it  differed  from  the  modern  instrument  in  having  more  than 
four  strings,  a  much  shorter  fingerboard  with  frets,  and  a  flat  and  not  a 
rounded  back.     The  bass  viol  gave  the  violoncello  a  hard  struggle  for 
supremacy,  but  by  the  end  of  the  iyth  century  the  latter's  victory  was 
assured,   and   gradually   the  older   instrument   was   superseded.     The 
violoncello  possesses  four  strings,  tuned  thus:  7"!  Up  to  the  end 

of  the  1 8th  century  its  use  in  orchestras  was  merely  to  furnish  the 
bass  in  company  with  the  double-basses.  It  was  Beethoven  who  first 
gave  larger  freedom  to  the  instrument,  and  that  freedom  and  the  upward 
range  of  the  violoncello  have  been  greatly  extended  by  modern  writers. 
Its  voice  is  one  of  the  most  admired  of  all  the  orchestral  instruments. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   DOUBLE  BASS 

THE  largest  of  stringed  instruments,  the  double  bass — it  is  not,  as 
many  people  call  it,  a  bass  viol — came  into  general  use  with  the 
appearance  of  the  violin.     Two  species  of  double  bass  have  been 
employed  by  performers — one  with  three  strings,  the  other  with  four. 
The  former  has  almost  entirely  been  superseded  by  the  latter,  which  is 
tuned  thus:   7  «     •.     It  should  be  remarked  here  that  for  convenience 

in  reading,  music  for  the  instrument  is  written  an  octave  higher  than 
the  sounds  to  be  produced.  As  the  strings  are  much  thicker  than  those 
of  other  stringed  instruments,  and  their  pitch  is  so  much  lower  — 
involving,  of  course,  slower  vibration — the  double  bass  does  not  usually 
lend  itself  to  brilliant  performance.  Nevertheless,  brilliant  music  has 
been  written  for  it,  as  for  instance,  the  concertos  of  Dragonetti  and  Bot- 
tesini.  Up  to  the  time  of  Beethoven,  the  double  bass  in  the  orchestra 
had  been  given  parts  of  the  utmost  simplicity,  partly  because  the  tech- 
nique of  the  players  was  poor,  and  partly  because  no  composer  had 
studied  the  individuality  of  the  instrument. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  FLUTE 

ONE  of  the  most  ancient  instruments,  the  flute  that  is  known  to 
modern  performers  and  concert-goers  differs  in  many  respects 
from  that  which  was  familiar  to  our  ancestors.  In  the  days  of 
Bach  and  Handel  two  varieties  of  flute  were  in  use  —  the  flute-a-bec, 
which  was  held  vertically  and  played  with  a  mouthpiece,  and  the  flauto 
traverso  (once  known  in  England  and  in  America  of  Colonial  times  as 
the  German  flute).  The  latter  instrument,  held  transversely  and 
blown  through  a  hole  in  the  side,  eventually  superseded  its  vertical 
relative,  but  it  was  imperfect  as  to  its  scale  and  faulty  as  to  intonation. 
Even  the  flutes  for  which  Beethoven  and  his  contemporaries  wrote 
were  a  trial  to  the  ear.  "What  is  worse  than  a  flute?"  someone  asked 
Cherubini.  "Two  flutes,"  promptly  said  that  master.  It  was  reserved 
for  Theobald  Boehm  (1794-1881)  to  revolutionize  the  instrument  by 
placing  the  note-holes  at  acoustically  correct  positions  on  the  tube, 
and  by  inventing  an  elaborate  key  system  to  assist  the  ringers  to  cover 
them.  The  flute  now  has  a  compass  from  middle  C  to  the  C  three 
octaves  above,  with  all  the  chromatic  intervals  between,  and  with  facility 
of  execution  undreamed  of  by  the  classical  composers  of  orchestral  art. 
Melancholy  lovers  are  supposed  to  find  consolation  in  a  flute. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  PICCOLO 

THE  piccolo  is  in  reality  a  small  flute,  and  indeed,  it  is  given  that 
name  by  the  French,  who  call  it  "Petite  Flute,"  and  by  the  Ger- 
mans, who  style  it  "Kleine  Flote."     The  Italians  employ  either 
"Flauto  Piccolo"  or  "Ottavino" — the  latter  name  signifying  that  the 
instrument  is  an  octave  higher  in  pitch  than  the  flute.     The  piccolo  is 
less  than  half  the  length  of  the  ordinary  flute,  but  its  key-system  closely 
resembles  that  of  the  latter  instrument.     Owing  to  the  high  pitch  of 
the  piccolo,  composers  write  for  it  an  octave  lower  than  the  actual  sounds 
which  they  wish  to  be  produced,  and  thereby  avoid  the  continual  use 
of  ledger  lines  that  would  be  confusing  to  the  eye.     The  range  extends 


,  sounding,  of  course,  an  octave  higher;  but  the  top 


from 

note  can  be  produced  only  in  a  fff,  and  the  working  compass  of  the 
instrument  does  not  extend  beyond  the  B  flat.  The  lowest  notes  of  the 
piccolo  are  weak  and  seldom  are  used  for  solo  passages.  In  the  orchestra 
one  piccolo  generally  is  used  but  some  scores  call  exceptionally  for  two 
piccolos,  and  Berlioz,  in  his  "Faust,"  even  made  use  of  three. 


THE      INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     OIXCHESTKA 


THE   OBOE 

THE  oboe  is  a  direct  descendant  of  an  old  instrument  which  was 
known  as  shawm  in  England  and  schalmey  in  Germany.  The 
word  "oboe"  is  derived  from  the  Italianized  form  of  the  French 
"hautbois;"  /.  e.y  a  high  woodwind  instrument,  as  distinguished  from 
"basson"  (bassoon),  a  low  one.  As  an  orchestral  instrument  the  oboe 
came  regularly  into  use  about  200  years  ago,  the  instrument  at  that  time 
having  been  much  coarser  in  tone,  and,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  possessed 
only  two  keys,  much  more  limited  as  to  its  technical  possibilities  than 
it  is  now.  The  oboe  belongs  to  a  group  of  wind  instruments  played  with 
a  double  reed — two  fine  pieces  of  prepared  cane  placed  one  against 
the  other  and  bound  by  means  of  silk  to  the  end  of  a  short  piece  of  metal 
tubing,  called  a  "staple."  The  body  of  the  instrument  is  made  of  cocus, 
ebonite  or  rosewood,  and  upon  it  there  is  fixed  an  elaborate  system  of 
keys  whose  fingering  has  resemblances  to  that  of  the  flute. 


The 


compass  is 


|p 

J   be 


occasionally    higher,  but   the   extremely 


high  notes  are  difficult  to  play  and  poor  in  quality. 


THE  ENGLISH   HORN 

IT  will  be  well  to  begin  a  description  of  this  instrument  by  explaining 
that  it  is  not  "English"  and  that  it  is  not  a  "horn."  Otherwise  its 
name  is  quite  appropriate.  A  member  of  the  oboe  family — an  alto 
oboe,  in  fact — the  earliest  history  of  the  English  horn  had  much  more 
to  do  with  France  than  with  England.  While  the  first  appearance  of 
the  instrument  seems  to  have  been  at  the  Imperial  Theatre  in  Vienna, 
where  it  was  used  as  early  as  1762,  it  was  French  composers  who 
made  the  English  horn  a  regular  constituent  of  the  orchestra.  It  is 
curious  that  the  dreamy,  pathetic  tone  of  the  instrument  should 
have  appealed  so  little  to  the  great  German  masters;  for  Haydn  used 
it  only  in  two  works,  and  Mozart  only  in  four.  Beethoven, 
Schubert,  Weber  and  Mendelssohn  never  employed  it  at  all,  and 
Schumann  merely  once.  The  English  horn  differs  from  the  oboe  in 
having  a  tube  that  is  wider  and  longer,  and  a  "bell"  that  is  globular 
in  form.  The  system  of  keys  and  their  fingering  is  practically  the 
same  as  in  the  oboe,  but  the  pitch  of  the  instrument  is  a  fifth  lower. 
Like  the  oboe  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  master  and  good  performers 
are  far  from  common. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  CLARINET 

THE  clarinet  is  generally  believed  to  have  been  invented  in  1690  by 
Johann  Christopher  Denner,  of  Nuremburg,  but  it  would  be  more 
correct  to  say  that  Denner  modified  another  instrument,  the 
chalumeau,  which  was  common  in  the  iyth  century,  and  which  was  used 
by  Gluck  in  the  scoring  of  his  earlier  operas.  Great  improvements  were 
made  in  the  clarinet  at  the  beginning  of  the  ipth  century,  but  a  much 
wider  field  was  opened  up  in  1843  by  tne  application  to  the  instrument 
of  the  system  of  keys,  etc.,  which  Boehm  had  invented  for  the  flute. 
The  clarinet  was  unused  in  the  orchestra  before  the  production  of 
Rameau's  "Acante  et  Ce'phise,"  in  1751,  and  it  was  not  until  the  period 
of  Mozart  and  Beethoven  that  its  employment  became  general.  The 
clarinet  is  played  with  a  single  reed — a  broad  strip  of  cane  attached  by 
a  clamp  to  a  conical  mouthpiece,  flattened  on  one  side  to  form  a  table 
for  the  reed.  The  latter  is  pressed  against  the  lower  lip  of  the  performer 
and  set  in  vibration  by  his  breath.  There  are  clarinets  of  various 

keys,  but  two  generally  are  employed — clarinets  in  B  flat  and  A,  their 

wi* 
compass  extending  from  ^^  to 


I  THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   BASSOON 

THE  bassoon  is  an  important  member  of  that  family  of  wind  instru- 
ments played  with  a  double  reed,  of  which  the  oboe  is  also  a  familiar 
representative.  Descended  from  the  mediaeval  schalmeys  and 
pommers,  the  bassoon  first  made  its  appearance  in  the  orchestra  in  1659, 
and  it  has  been  a  regular  constituent  of  it  since  the  time  of  Handel. 
Owing  to  its  supposed  resemblance  to  a  bundle  of  sticks  or  faggots,  the 
instrument  was  called  by  the  Italians  "fagotto"  (German,  "fagott"), 
and  it  still  goes  by  that  name.  The  total  length  of  the  bassoon  is  about 
eight  feet,  but  being  doubled  back  upon  itself,  the  length  is  reduced  to 
about  four  feet — the  whole  consisting  of  five  separate  pieces.  The 
compass  of  the  instrument  is  extensive,  the  lowest  note  being  2=H:  the 
highest  ip=.  Much  has  been  written  about  the  bassoon's  qualities  of 
musical  humor,  but  it  is  also  capable  of  expressive  feeling,  especially  in 
the  upper  register.  Two  bassoons  is  the  normal  number  in  the  orchestra, 
but  three  are  not  infrequently  used  in  modern  music.  Its  voice  is  easily 
recognizable  by  anyone. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


OF 


THE  DOUBLE  BASSOON 

THIS  instrument,  called  "contrafagotto"  in  Italian,  "contrafagott" 
in  German  and  "contre-basson"  in  French,  stands  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  bassoon  that  the  double-bass  does  to  the  violoncello. 
The  instrument  used  in  French,  German  and  English  orchestras  is  not, 
however,  uniform  in  outward  appearance,  in  range  nor  in  quality  of 
tone.  Of  the  three  varieties,  the  German  double-bassoon  is  the  most 
desirable,  for  its  tone  is  of  finer  quality,  its  compass  greater  and  its 
lowest  notes  more  distinct  than  is  the  case  with  the  French  and  English 
instruments.  The  modern  German  double-bassoon  owes  much  of  its 
excellence  to  Heckel,  the  instrument  maker  of  Biberich,  who  invented 
the  heckelphone.  It  is  a  conical  wooden  pipe,  as  to  its  form,  and  the 
metal  bell  at  the  upper  end  points  downwards.  The  double-bassoon, 
like  the  double  bass,  has  its  music  written  for  it  an  octave  higher  than 
the  sounds  which  it  is  required  to  play — this  in  order  to  avoid  the 
confusion  which  would  result  in  the  use  of  many  ledger-lines,  for  the 
instrument  descends  into  the  bass  as  far  as  Its  tone  imparts 

a  characteristic  richness.  ta 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  CORNET 

HERE  we  have  an  instrument  which  formerly  was  regarded  as 
being  better  suited  to  theater  orchestras  and  bands  than  to 
symphonic  organizations.  Writers  upon  the  technique  of 
instrumentation  have  been  almost  unanimous  in  the  ferocity  with 
which  they  have  fallen  upon  the  cornet — its  full  name  is  "cornet-a- 
pistons" — and  disposed  of  its  pretensions  to  representation  in  sym- 
phonies, overtures  and  other  symphonic  compositions,  by  calling  its 
tone  "vulgar,"  "noisy,"  "blatant"  and  "coarse."  Thanks  to  the 
example  of  French  composers — Bizet,  Gounod,  Auber,  Charpentier  and 
others — who  have  regarded  the  cornet  as  a  legitimate  and  even  as  an 
important  member  of  the  orchestra,  the  instrument  of  late  years  has 
been  more  and  more  used  by  writers  of  symphonic  music.  The  cornet 
is  a  descendant  of  the  post  horn,  which  was  used  in  earlier  days  on  stage 
coaches  carrying  mails,  and  it  is  provided,  like  the  trumpet,  with  three 
valves  or  pistons.  Similarly  to  the  horn  and  the  trumpet,  the  cornet 
is  put  into  different  keys  by  the  insertion  of  small  pieces  of  extra  tubing 
called  "crooks."  Two  cornets  generally  are  employed  in  orchestra 
scores,  in  B  flat  and  A,  respectively. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   TRUMPET 

WHAT  Colley  Gibber  in  his  "Richard  III"  called  "the  shrill  trum- 
pet," was  an  instrument  of  hoary  antiquity  long  before  that 
author  set  down  his  drama  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  drop  a  plummet  into  the  unfathomable  ocean  of  time  in 
order  to  discover  when  the  trumpet  first  was  given  its  shape  and  being. 
As  an  orchestral  instrument  it  came  into  use  some  time  about  the  period 
in  which  Monteverde,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
wrote  his  operas.  At  the  end  of  that  century  the  use  of  the  instrument 
was  quite  common,  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  used — as  in 
the  works  of  Bach  and  Handel — for  bravura  effects,  especially  in  its 
highest  register.  Like  the  horn,  the  earliest  trumpet  was  put  into  this 
key  or  that  by  inserting  small  pieces  of  brass  tubing,  called  "crooks" — 
these  devices  altering  the  length  and  therefore  the  pitch  of  the  instru- 
ment. In  the  first  quarter  of  the  I9th  century  a  system  of  valves  was 
invented,  and  these  permitted  the  player  to  put  the  instrument  instan- 
taneously into  any  key  and  play  with  facility  passages  that  were  either 
difficult  or  impossible  before.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  middle 
of  the  century  that  the  use  of  the  valve  trumpet  became  general. 


THE   TROMBONE 

THIS  instrument — the  "artless  trombone,"  Dickens  called  it— is 
one  of  the  most  ancient  members  of  the  orchestra.  The  principle 
of  producing  sound  from  a  metal  instrument  by  blowing  into  it, 
and  varying  the  pitch  of  the  sounds  by  lengthening  or  shortening  the 
column  of  air  in  the  tube  by  means  of  a  slide,  was  known  even  to  the 
Romans.  Under  the  name  of  sackbut,  the  trombone  was  a  familiar 
instrument  to  English  speaking  people  as  early  as  the  i4th  century, 
and  so  much  did  the  sackbut  of  earlier  days  resemble  the  modern  trom- 
bone, that  to  an  ordinary  observer  the  outward  appearance  of  the 
former,  as  it  was  made  in  the  i6th  century,  presents  but  little  difference 
to  the  appearance  of  the  latter.  Three  centuries  ago  there  were  soprano, 
alto,  tenor  and  bass  sackbuts  or  trombones,  and  all  these  were  in  use  in 
the  time  of  Bach  and  Handel.  The  soprano  instrument  eventually 
lapsed  into  oblivion,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  I9th  century  the  alto 
trombone  was  well  on  its  way  to  follow  it.  In  all  instruments  the 
mechanism  is  the  same;  a  slide  moves  up  or  down  the  two  fixed  "legs" 
of  the  trombone,  seven  "positions"  being  possible.  Three  trombones 
generally  are  employed  in  the  orchestra. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   HORN 

THE  horn — it  is  often  called  the  French  horn — was  an  instrument 
which  was  used  to  give  hunting  signals  before  it  was  introduced  to 
the  orchestra,  at  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century.  The  early 
instruments  gave  only  an  imperfect  scale;  they  consisted  merely  of  a 
metal  tube  coiled  around  itself  and  capable  of  producing,  as  all  such 
tubes  are,  only  a  certain  number  of  notes  by  pressure  of  breath  and  of 
the  lips.  These  notes — they  are  technically  called  the  "harmonic 
series" — were  added  to  in  1770  by  the  discovery  that  the  gaps  in  the 
scale  could  partially  be  filled  up  by  inserting  the  hand  in  the  bell  of  the 
horn,  and  thus  altering  the  pitch.  The  performer  had  at  his  disposal 
an  instrument  whose  pitch  depended  upon  the  length  of  its  tube.  In 
order  to  play  in  different  keys  he  was  compelled  to  insert  extra  pieces 
of  brass  tubing — they  were  called  "crooks — and  these,  being  of  different 
lengths,  put  the  horn  into  any  key  that  was  desired.  A  great  revolution 
was  made  in  1820,  when  a  system  of  valves  was  invented  which  not 
only  permitted  the  performer  to  play  in  any  key  instantaneously  without 
having  to  insert  crooks,  but  which  gave  the  horn  a  complete  chromatic 
scale.  Four  horns  generally  are  employed  in  the  orchestra. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   TUBA 

THE  orchestral  tuba — or  "bass  tuba,"  as  it  really  should  be  called 
— is  merely  one  of  a  family  of  tenor  and  bass  brass  instruments 
which  are  sometimes  called  by  other  names  than  that  which  stands 
at  the  head  of  this  article.  Thus,  there  is  the  euphonium,  the  bom- 
bardon, the  helicon,  etc.  It  should  be  mentioned,  however,  that  instru- 
ments called  "tenor  tuben"  and  "bass  tuben"  by  Wagner,  who  had 
them  constructed  for  use  in  his  "Nibelungen,"  are  not  tubas  at  all,  but 
merely  modified  horns.  Wagner  did  use  a  true  tuba  in  his  trilogy — he 
entitled  it  "kontrabass  tuba" — and  it  was  his  example  which  led  his 
contemporaries  and  his  successors  to  make  the  tuba  an  integral  part  of 
the  modern  orchestra.  The  name  of  the  instrument  was  given  to  it 
by  Wilhelm  Friedrich  Wieprecht,  who  brought  the  first  examples  of  it 
into  existence  in  1835,  but  much  of  the  excellence  of  the  later  tubas  was 
owing  to  the  improvements  made  in  brass  instrument  construction  by 
Adolphe  Sax,  an  instrument  maker  of  Paris,  who  was  the  inventor  of  the 
saxhorn,  the  saxophone  and  other  instruments.  The  bass  tuba  some- 
times possesses  four  pistons  instead  of  the  three  possessed  by  the 
horns,  trumpets,  cornets,  etc.  The  bass  clef  is  used  in  writing  for  it. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


SIDE  DRUM  AND  TRIANGLE 

THE  side  drum,  also  known  as  snare  drum,  small  drum  or  military 
drum,  is  constructed  of  a  metal  or  wooden  cylinder,  over  which  is 
stretched  a  parchment  head  at  each  end.  The  peculiar  tone  of 
the  side  drum  is  largely  due  to  the  circumstance  that  across  the  lower 
disk  a  number  of  catgut  strings,  technically  known  as  "snares,"  are 
stretched  so  that  they  lie  against  the  parchment,  and  the  vibrations 
of  the  strokes  made  upon  the  head  are  communicated  to  them  sym- 
pathetically. Without  the  snares  the  tone  would  be  short  and  dull. 
The  sheepskin  heads  may  be  tightened  or  slackened  by  means  of  metal 
rods  and  screws,  placed  upon  the  cylinder.  In  some  instruments  this  is 
accomplished  by  cords  which  are  tightened  or  loosened  by  means  of 
leather  braces.  The  drum  is  played  with  two  hardwood  sticks  with 
olive-shaped  heads. 

The  triangle  is  made  of  steel,  bent  in  triangular  form  and  open  at  one 
of  its  corners  in  order  to  permit  of  free  vibration  throughout  its  length. 
It  is  struck  in  the  lower  closed  corner  by  a  short  metal  rod.  Beetho- 
ven made  use  of  the  instrument  in  the  finale  of  his  ninth  symphony. 


BASS  DRUM  AND  CYMBALS 

THE  bass  drum — grosse  caisse  in  French,  gran  cassa  in  Italian 
and  grosse  trommel  in  German — is  composed  of  a  wooden  shell, 
cylindrical  in  shape  and  not  always  uniform  as  to  size,  the  parch- 
ment head  being  stretched  over  hoops,  an  arrangement  of  leather  braces 
or  tags  making  it  possible  to  loosen  or  tighten  the  heads.  The  stick 
used  by  the  player  is  provided  with  a  knob  which  is  padded  with  felt 
or  with  some  similar  material.  Occasionally — as,  for  example,  where  a 
roll  is  required  like  that  played  on  the  kettledrum — two  sticks  are 
employed.  Generally,  onlv  one  drum  is  used  in  the  orchestra,  but  there 
have  been  exceptional  instances  in  which  more  than  one  have  figured 
in  a  score.  Beethoven  employed  three  bass  drums  in  "The  Battle  of 
Vittoria."  Usually  the  part  for  the  instrument  is  written  on  a  stave 
in  the  bass  clef,  but  in  many  modern  scores  merely  one  line  without 
any  clef  has  been  indicated. 

The  cymbals  are  two  brass  plates  of  circular  shape,  which  are  held 
by  a  strap  placed  on  the  outer  side.  The  plates  are  not  quite  flat,  but 
are  made  slightly  concave,  so  that  the  outer  edges  rather  than  the  whole 
surface  come  into  contact  when  they  are  struck  together. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     OIVCHESTRA 


THE  KETTLEDRUM 

THE  kettledrum,  the  most  important  of  the  instruments  of  percus- 
sion, is  of  Oriental  origin,  for  it  has  existed  in  Arabia  and  in  other 
countries  of  the  east  from  time  immemorial  as  a  small  half  gourd 
covered  with  a  dressed  skin.  It  is  certain  that  the  instrument  was 
known  to  Europeans  as  early  as  the  ijth  century,  and  in  England  the 
name  "ketyl  drome"  was  familiar  to  the  public  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII,  who,  indeed,  was  the  first  importer  of  the  large  sized  instruments. 
The  kettledrum  consists  of  a  basin-shaped  shell  of  copper,  covered 
with  a  parchment  head,  which,  when  struck,  produces  a  definite  musical 
tone,  the  pitch  of  which  can  be  changed  at  will  by  tightening  or  by 
loosening  the  skin  by  means  of  the  screws  with  T-heads  which  are 
placed  around  the  rim  of  the  instrument.  The  kettledrum  is  played 
with  two  sticks  whose  heads  are  covered  with  felt.  Although  two 
drums  generally  have  been  found  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  orchestral 
composition,  modern  music  often  calls  for  three  and  even  more  than 
that.  The  largest  instrument,  used  for  the  lowest  notes,  can  descend 
to  the  low  E  flat  on  the  first  ledger  line  below  the  bass  staff",  and  the 
small  instrument  can  ascend  to  the  G,  an  octave  and  a  third  above  it. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
[|  THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE   HARP 

IT  IS  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  antiquity  of  the  harp,  but  it  will  be 
instructive  to  point  out  that  there  is  no  other  instrument  of  the 
orchestra  which  has  served  it  for  so  long  a  period  of  time.  More- 
over, there  are  very  few  instruments  which  have  retained  their  charac- 
teristics unchanged  through  the  centuries  as  the  harp  has;  for  the 
essential  principles  of  construction  and  of  performance  are  today  prac- 
tically what  they  were  in  ancient  Egypt  thirteen  or  more  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era.  But  although  the  harp  now,  as  then,  consists 
of  a  number  of  strings  of  different  lengths  and  of  different  pitch,  stretched 
from  one  end  of  the  instrument  to  the  other,  played  by  being  plucked  by 
both  hands;  and  although  it  still  is  diatonic  and  not  chromatic  by  nature, 
it  has  undergone  important  changes  in  the  details  of  construction  during 
the  last  two  centuries.  Pedals  which,  when  they  were  depressed,  raised 
the  pitch  of  each  string  half  a  tone,  already  had  been  introduced  in  1720, 
but  the  double  action  harp,  in  which  the  pedalling  mechanism  raised  the 
pitch  of  the  strings  either  a  half  or  a  whole  tone,  was  introduced  in  1809. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  American  harps — those  made  by  Lyon  & 
Healy,  of  Chicago — are  used  in  nearly  all  the  great  symphony  orchestras 
of  both  Europe  and  America. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  CELESTA 

THIS  instrument  was  invented  by  Victor  Mustel,  of  Paris,  in  1886. 
It  did  not  come  into  general  use  until  about  twenty  years  ago. 
One  of  the  first  to  employ  it  in  symphonic  music  was  Tschaikowsky, 
who  saw  it  in  Paris  in  1891.  "I  have  discovered  a  new  instrument  in 
Paris,"  he  wrote  to  his  publisher,  "something  between  a  piano  and  a 
glockenspiel,  with  a  divinely  beautiful  tone."  The  cost  of  a  celesta, 
the  Russian  master  said,  was  1,200  francs.  The  celesta  was  used  by 
Widor  in  his  ballet,  "La  Korrigane,"  by  Charpentier  in  "Louise,"  by 
Glazounow  in  "Raymonda,"  Schbnberg  in  his  Five  Pieces,  Gliere  in 
"The  Sirens,"  etc.  The  instrument,  which  has  a  keyboard  resembling 
that  of  a  piano,  produces  its  tone  by  means  of  a  number  of  steel  bars  or 
plates  which  are  struck  by  hammers  similar  to  those  of  the  piano.  Under 
each  steel  bar  there  is  placed  a  wooden  resonator,  and  the  celesta  is 
provided  with  a  pedal  which  increases  its  sustaining  power.  The 
compass  extends  from  middle  C  to  the  C  three  octaves  higher.  As  a 
rule,  the  instrument  is  written  for  an  octave  below  the  real  sounds,  but 
in  his  suite  drawn  from  the  ballet,  "Casse-Noisette,"  Tschaikowsky 
wrote  the  actual  notes  that  he  intended  should  be  played. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  GLOCKENSPIEL 

AITS  name  indicates,  the  glockenspiel — or  carillon,  as  the  French 
call  it — originally  was  constructed  of  a  number  of  little  bells  played 
by  a  keyboard  similar  to  that  of  a  piano.  As  shov,  ing  that  such 
an  instrument  is  far  from  being  peculiar  to  modern  composers,  it  may 
be  stated  that  a  glockenspiel  was  employed  by  Handel  in  his  oratorio 
"Saul."  Mozart,  too,  wrote  an  important  part  for  the  instrument  in 
his  opera  "Die  Zauberflbte."  In  the  score  of  that  work  it  was  described 
as  "instrumento  d'acciajo" — i.  e.,  instrument  of  steel — and  this  name 
would  seem  to  establish  the  fact  that  in  his  day  the  glockenspiel  already 
had  had  the  bells  supplanted  by  plates  of  steel  with  hammers  to  strike 
them.  In  the  form  of  a  horizontal,  ladderlike  arrangement  of  steel  bars 
the  glockenspiel  is  constructed  today.  Under  each  bar  there  usually 
is  to  be  found  a  tubular  resonator.  While  this  form  of  instrument, 
played  with  little  wooden  hammers,  is  now  generally  used,  the  key- 
board variety  of  glockenspiel  has  not  altogether  become  obsolete.  The 
compass  of  the  glockenspiel  is  not  invariably  uniform,  but  it  is  written 
for  as  a  transposing  instrument — an  octave,  in  some  cases  two  octaves, 
below  the  real  sound. 


7 'HE  INSTRUMENTS  OF 
THE  ORCHESTRA 


THE  GONG  AND  BELLS 

THE  gong,  which  is  known  to  the  French,  the  Germans  and  the 
Italians  as  "tam-tam,"  its  Indian  name,  consists  of  a  circular  plate 
of  hammered  bronze  (eighty  parts  of  copper  to  twenty  parts  of 
tin).     The  best  instruments  are  of  Oriental  manufacture,  and  generally 
they  are  made  so  that  the  edge  is  turned  over,  giving  the  gong  the  shape 
of  a  large  metal  tambourine.    The  tone  of  the  instrument  is  sinister 
in  soft  passages  and  terrifying  in  loud.     The  sound  is  produced  by  the 
stroke  of  a  stick  with  a  stuffed  head. 

Bells,  as  they  are  employed  in  the  orchestra,  are  not  at  all  like  the 
articles  which  hang  in  the  steeples  of  churches.  To  explain  the  non- 
employment  of  such  bells  in  the  concert  room,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
state  that  an  instrument  of  the  kind  which  would  sound  C  an  octave 
below  middle  C  would  weigh  no  less  than  twenty-two  tons.  The  bells 
which  most  frequently  are  employed  for  orchestral  purposes  are  metal 
tubes  which  are  hung  upon  a  wooden  frame  and  struck  with  a  small 
mallet.  These  are  sold  in  sets  which  consist  either  of  eight  tubes, 
corresponding  to  a  degree  of  the  major  scale  or  of  thirteen  correspond- 
ing to  the  degrees  of  the  chromatic  scale.  Occasionally,  other  forms  of 
bells  have  been  used — like  the  saucer-shaped  bells  on  alarm  clocks. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  XYLOPHONE  AND  TAMBOURINE 

THE  xylophone,  sometimes  called  by  the  Germans  "strohfiedel"  or 
"holzharmonika,"  derives  its  name  from  the  Greek  xu/on,  meaning 
wood,  and  phone,  voice.  As  the  name  of  it  indicates,  the  instru- 
ment consists  of  a  number  of  slabs  of  hardwood — often  it  is  rosewood — 
played  upon  by  little  beaters,  either  with  spoon-shaped  or  with  globular 
heads.  The  xylophone  is  not  uniformly  constructed.  Some  instru- 
ments contain  36  notes;  others  only  27.  The  upward  compass  extends 
as  high  as  the  third  octave  above  middle  C.  Composers  have  not  agreed 
as  to  the  method  of  writing  for  the  xylophone.  Some  treat  it  as  a  non- 
transposing  instrument;  others  write  for  it  an  octave  lower  than  the 
real  sounds  which  they  wish  to  be  performed.  The  xylophone  does  not 
often  figure  in  the  scores,  but  it  is  in  at  least  two — Mahler's  sixth 
symphony  and  Frederick  Stock's  C  minor  symphony. 

The  tambourine  is  one  of  the  instruments  which  have  passed  through 
centuries  of  orchestral  development  unchanged.  Constructed  of  a 
wooden  frame,  over  one  side  of  which  a  parchment  head  has  been 
stretched,  there  are  added  to  it  little  metal  plates  which  are  inserted 
in  pairs,  loosely  strung  on  wire,  in  openings  cut  in  the  fra'me.  When 
the  instrument  is  struck  or  shaken,  these  little  plates  jingle. 


THE     INSTRUMENTS     OF 
THE     ORCHESTRA 


THE  SAXOPHONE 

THE  Saxophone,  while  not  generally  recognized  as  an  orchestral 
instrument,  is  increasing  in  favor  so  rapidly  that  it  deserves  mention. 
Since  its  invention  by  Adolph  Sax,  it  has  made  its  way  steadily  in 
favor  owing  to  its  remarkable  tone  quality.  Its  tone  is  somewhat  on  the 
order  of  that  of  a  Violoncello,  but  greatly  magnified.  The  Saxophone 
gives  sustaining  power  to  the  full  chorus  of  brass  instruments.  In  French 
military  bands,  five  or  more  Saxophones  have  been  in  use  for  many  years 
past.  The  family  of  Saxophones  consists  of  the  soprano,  the  mezzo- 
soprano,  the  contralto,  the  baritone,  the  bass  and  the  double  bass.  It 
is  not  considered  as  difficult  to  play  as  the  clarinet,  although  the  fingering 
is  much  the  same.  The  Saxophone  blends  the  tone  qualities  of  reed 
and  horn,  and  makes  a  place  all  its  own.  Among  the  instruments 
which  in  the  last  half  century  have  aspired  to  a  place  in  the  orchestra, 
the  Saxophone,  more  than  any  other,  perhaps,  has  been  able  by  sheer 
merit,  to  win  against  those  traditions  which  tend  to  limit  the  scope  of 
the  orchestra  to  certain  recognized  instruments.  Of  late  years  the 
Saxophone  seems  to  exert  a  great  fascination  when  used  in  ball  room  music. 


MOODS  OF  MUSIC     By  Robert  Blum 


Copyright  by  Robert  Blum.     From  a  Copley  Print  ropyright  by  Curtis  y  Cameron,  Publishers,  Boston 


